The town of Morwell is central to Victoria’s production of energy from brown-coal fired power stations. Climate campaigners want the government to cut subsidies for fossil fuels.
Photograph: Meredith O'Shea for the Guardian

A diverse group of religious, education and renewable energy sector leaders have gathered in Canberra to pressure Scott Morrison to cut $7.7bn worth of subsidies for fossil fuels in the budget.

Fossil-fuel industry gets $2,000 in 'subsidies' for each $1 in party donations

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The coalition, organised by climate change advocacy group 350 and WWF, says as the government seeks to tackle the deficit community pressure is building to cut fossil fuel subsidies and invest instead in areas including health and renewable energy.

The $7.7bn of subsidies include $5.5bn of non-agricultural fuel tax credits, $1.24bn for concessional rates of fuel excise on aviation fuel and $650m of tax deductions for exploration and prospecting by the mining industry.

Ending the subsidies was the most popular option for budget repair (36% in favour), ahead of reducing negative gearing benefits, raising the GST, increasing capital gains tax and tightening superannuation tax concessions – options which all got less than 20%.

The chief executive of the renewable energy company Roofjuice, Nigel Morris, said: “If you look up the definition of ‘innovation’ it doesn’t say ‘support a declining, obsolete industry with massive subsidies’.

“It’s time the government started investing in the future, not the past. The fossil fuel sector is on the decline … The only thing slowing down this transition now is the billions in handouts to the fossil fuel sector.”

A former Anglican bishop, George Browning, said: “Science and Christianity are on the same page in urging human responsibility in the face of escalating climate change.” He added: “The clock is ticking. We cannot sit on our hands any longer.”

A Uniting church minister, Seforosa Carroll, who manages church partnerships in the Pacific region, said: “The mining and burning of fossil fuels is destroying our islands and our cultural heritage. We bear the brunt of the damaging effects of climate change to our ecosystems and livelihoods.

“The continuing multibillion-dollar subsidies by the Australian government to fossil fuel companies will in the long term have a serious impact on the already vulnerable Pacific communities by further undermining their future.”

An Australian Education Union ACT branch campaigns officer, Luke Stickels, said: “Continuing to fund polluters when we know the damage being done to the environment is unforgivable intergenerational theft. It is grossly foolish and unfair.”

“In Australia we have the Liberal, National and Labor parties that have, in the past year, cut our renewable energy target, approved huge new coalmines, supported fossil fuel subsidies, taken donations from fossil fuel companies, and set pollution-reduction targets well below what the science says is necessary,” he said.